Where to go for college???
Hello, I am a senior in high school needing to make my decision of where I choose to go to college. I am trying to break into investment banking on the mid-to-high level EB and BB banks and likely move to private equity after a few years, but am trying to choose the best college from the options I have in front of me (not in any particular order of preference, but just need help with what is best). Money is also not much of an issue according to my parents, since they are willing to help pay for most, if not all that is needed. I also will have my 2 year AA degree from a local community college here in Florida, so that will likely help with cutting about 2 years off my education here.
- University of Florida (heard a little about the MSF program).
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (seems to have an overall greater presence in IB on Wall Street than any of these, but I could be wrong).
- Ohio State (heard a little about Fisher Futures)
- Indiana University (the IBW is very appealing, but wasn't able to get much on how to get in).
- Penn State (World Campus, but plan to switch to on-campus when I can, and let's assume I cannot get into the Nittany Lion Fund).
- University of Miami (really only know of regional banks being recruited for)
- Waitlisted for NYU, and waiting on UC Berkeley and University of Georgia.
I know NYU and UC Berkeley are targets for IB, and if I get into either, I will definitely pick one from them (but I don't think I will, so we'll assume that too). And as for UGA, I've heard good things about the Corsair Society.
But really, I just want to know everyone's opinions on where I can/should go for college regarding breaking into a higher-end investment bank in NYC. I tried to dig through these forums trying to find the best one for me, but still can't pinpoint where I should submit my deposit before the May 1 deadline. I would greatly appreciate any comments, questions, and feedback regarding my situation. Thanks!
UIUC is a lock for Chicago recruiting. Rest of the schools you were accepted to aren't as strong or require membership in a very selective program/workshop to get looks from IBs. Best of luck.
Although I know Chicago is a city to work, it's definitely not as desirable as NYC from a lot of what I heard. But I feel that I am better than most in what I'm capable of in pure grit (I really hate to say that, but truly feel it's true) and would be willing to grind doing what I have to and beyond in order to get into these programs. Please add onto this with suggestions on what I need to do for programs such as the IBW and Fisher Futures. Thank you a ton!
Considering your list of schools, I’d argue you shouldn’t be picky with the city that you’d potentially end up in. All of these schools are non-targets (with exception of one/two low semi-targets) so working in Chicago is likely your best bet.
I really hate the AA programs that Florida high schools have because it really sets you up for failure. If you go to any in-state university then you will be screwed for IB recruiting because you're just going to be 18 years old, you're gonna ruin your college experience by just being there for two years, and no one really sees that as being impressive.
I know that I’m not really answering your question but my suggestion is to not graduate early. Pick up a second major and a minor or something. Age maturity will help you and graduating two years early doesn’t help. Recruiting will be weird and they will look at you differently if you tell them you’re actually a freshman but a junior by credits (they will cringe super hard).
Oh, I actually did not know that was unfavorable to do two years. I personally would've thought it would help more since it showed that I could balance high school and AP/college courses/etc. I do see why the college experience is important though. But what if I can somehow use the extra 2 years in something such as a world traveling experience (something they don't really expect an applicant to have done so it stands out, such as working to help Africans, climb notable mountains, do some other crazy cool stuff, etc.) Maybe even get a boatload of relevant experience with small investment banks/private equity firms, or just really something to maximize 2 years IF I did choose to go to UF. Any suggestions? Thank you a lot!
I still done think it would work out because it complicates with recruiting because that would mean you would have only one chance to get a good internship between the two years and I doubt you’re gonna be able to learn a lot during the first year. If you’re able to take a few semesters off do fall or spring internship then maybe but I genuinely think it just complicates things. There’s no need to rush your college experience and I think you’re going to regret it by wanting to start working as soon as possible.
UF MSF program is very good and places way better than people think. EVR, JPM, CS, MS, WB, WF, RBC and more.If you're serious about IB then MSF is the way to go. Assuming you have great SAT score, if you get involved in the program early you'll get in. Highly recommend
You really think I'd have a good chance, and why don't people think it does well? I know they do have done student-run fund of like $1M, which ain't bad to partake in. But sadly, my SAT/ACT scores are so dang pathetic (1190/27), so maybe I lost my shot with those. But what do I have to do to maximize my chances of involving myself with them and how selective is this MSF program?
I guess what I meant to say is the MSF program places well for being considered a “semi-target”.
There’s many clubs and groups you can join on campus that give you an excellent shot of getting in. I’m not super familiar with them because I only have heard about the program through friends. But the program is very selective but well worth putting in the effort.
There are also many programs similar to the MSF program that place well in IB and Consulting. There’s MIB (Master of International Business), MACC (Accounting), MSM (Management), and ISOM (Information Systems Operations Management). Those programs are still an excellent experience that allows you to take many similar classes to MSF. So it’s not MSF or bust for IB.
Hope this helps.
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University of Miami is your best choice out of this list (not including your waitlisted schools like you mentioned). Normally US news ranking is pretty important, especially when it comes to the gap between say University of Florida (#28) and University of Miami (#55), but in this case schools like UF have gamed the ranking system to come out on top despite not necessarily having better job placements.
Miami has way more opportunities for underclassman (and overall) internships compared to Gainesville, and it's much easier to get a return offer from a SA gig than going through a full time recruiting cycle. A BB is much more likely to take you onboard if you have a good freshman/sophomore internship compared to a big state school with that many more students with your exact same degree.
That's why Miami appealed to me so much, just that opportunity in a city like that (also real estate too). And could you further elaborate on the SA gig to BB? Do you mean that if I can get a summer analyst internship in Miami where there's a lot more to do than Gainesville, (I would think small firm, right?), then I have a good shot at a BB recruiting me from there?? It does sound logical, but at the same time, but do the BB/EB banks look favorably on University of Miami/Miami in general? Thanks!
Don’t take that into account. Gainesville doesn’t have an investment banks but is easily accessible to summer opportunities in Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, and even Miami just as much as UM.
If you’re looking to make a career in Miami I could see how you might be able to leverage connections from UM. However if NYC is truly your goal, UF is far more adept to prepare you for that.
Correct I'd pick someone with prior internship experience or their junior year SA gig over someone with little to no related experience. In terms of BBs, Miami is unfortunately not a target for them in terms of investment banking recruiting. Citi TTS is the only big recruiter, though every year a couple of kids squeak through to full time investment banking jobs at bulge brackets.
I fundamentally disagree with this. Even though the US News rankings can be a crap shoot, UF has much better placement for internships than UM does (at a fraction of the cost of tuition). It’s not like Miami is a town known to even have good finance opportunities for freshman or sophomore internships.
No Cali school if you want to go to NYC. Even Stanford is hard
Even if I do (hoping Berkeley can open doors, but not expecting it), I would be cool with a San Francisco or Los Angeles job too. I don't know the lifestyle differences, but I think they wouldn't be too bad. 🤷🏾
Any of those schools are fine. Especially Illinois for bang for buck.
I went to a school less than all these in terms of prestige.
Still got offered a $100k salary out of school. You’ll be okay buddy.
Oh jeez, most definite congratulations on getting that from your school, but I still feel like I should maximize my chances somewhere. If I went to Illinois, what could/should I do for getting to NYC? And same question applies to any other school I listed. Thank you!
Update; I forgot to mention these details that may be important: I also am/have been extremely interested in real estate and plan to start on it when I am in college (wherever I go, my dad is willing to buy a house for me to live in and rent out with tenant(s) and house hack it), so I plan to have a part-time job to build up money to continue and slowly expand upon my real estate to build generous passive income from real estate. If I'm ever able to get to the level of same income as I could in IB/PE/HF/VC from real estate, I don't see why I would be required to continue working in banking with the headaches too, right? But I overall just wanted to point out that I do have a strong passion in real estate, so if there's any firms or something I should know, please flood me below. I also got $40K ($10K each year) over 4 years at Indiana University and $100K ($25K each year) at University of Miami, so do with that information as you wish.
Not very interested in IB or PE so I don’t know how well some of these schools place. But I got to Penn State and have good job in RE lined up. Lots of alum in the industry in NYC and the surrounding area. Happy to chat more if you’d like.
Hey bro- I just recently got into Penn State UP and Kelley and am extremely confused as to which school I should choose based on my career aspirations. Could we chat over PM?
Hey man DM me about UF. Happy to chat and I think it’s your best option.
Also, enjoy the ride. You don't get this time of your life back.
I sure am man. I've been having a true blast all of my senior year and trying to let my underclassmen friends know the same to enjoy to their best. But at the same time, I can't help but be concerned about not being able to crack into my dream job in time and securely.
I understand the pressure. You can only do what you can do. Focus in on best potential result initiatives and be ready to shine when you get the opportunity. My comment was more about having purpose while enjoying college vs. being so focused on doing X or Y to secure a spot. Some kids get in to school and are so formulaic they just don't have fun. As an older person who has seen many many many paths to success, I can assure you successful people want to be around others who understand proportionality. We want to be around interesting / fun people, not robots.
Can PM me if you want to hear more about Kelley, got into IB from Kelley.
DM'd you man. Thanks!
Also side note:You are aware that offers would already be out for your "junior internship" before you even start school? If you only have two years then you only have one summer to internship at a IB. So that means it would be SA23. By the time you start in August, a crap load of the banks would either be done or near complete with recruiting. So that means you would have to apply now. Of which you can't because you're not even a college student. And recruiting isn’t over then you plan on being able to prep and nail the interviews in less than 3 months? So I don't really know how this works in your favor.
So let's take UF out of tbe equation for this, then where do you suggest I should go based on this list? Thanks!
Personally, I would take OSU over the others. Fisher Futures is a very solid program, and their other resources/clubs are high-level. Have a buddy that goes there and he has older friends going to JPM, Houlihan, etc. It also seems to have a lot of positive momentum recently in terms of placement.
Surprised more people aren't pushing for Kelly, think it places really well at a lot of banks (at least in NYC). A high-tier semi target. Would then go UIUC, Penn State, not sure on the others
Is that with or without the IBW? Because I do know the IBW is really good, but hearing about only a few dozen out of 1000+ seems to be crazy if that's the only way to break in, right?
I think even outside of the IBW. In general, I think your floor is much higher at Kelly than it is at some of these other places (i.e., you might not be able to land at a top bank, but you'll get a good gig out of UG in RE/AM/commercial banking and so on)
Good on you for deciding on this so early. I didn't decide on breaking into investment banking until halfway through my junior year. Still have no idea how I even landed a job. (UVA)
Yes man, I've been wanting to go into corporate finance for a while now and know I really need to begin as soon as I could. And mad congratulations on getting an offer after starting that late! Maybe because of a decent presence of UVA for it. But do you mind me asking of how you did it?
I wouldn't recommend this path. I was actually a transfer student because I'm a fucking idiot and got a 2.7 GPA in high school. I majored in finance and transferred from a terrible university (starting there my third year). I got interested in IB a few months later and did some half-hearted networking during my junior year. I ended up getting a transaction advisory services (TAS) internship that summer because I couldn't land an IB internship. As previously stated, I'm a fucking idiot. That was the very best I could do though, so I just went insanely hard on full-time recruiting toward the end of that internship. Luckily, my GPA was good (and had a 4.0 at my previous school, since I kinda turned my life around freshman college year) and I have a solid resume/cover letter in terms of extracurriculars and shit. In other words, I took the very hard route because I was unmotivated in high school and started too late in college. I ended up getting a job at a boutique, but I'm pretty satisfied with it for the time being. Regardless, you'll definitely do better than that. Just keep your grades up and start studying for interviews as soon as possible.
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